Naiqama: "It comes down to concentration"

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After last week's nail-biting loss to the Cronulla Sharks, Wests Tigers outside back Kevin Naiqama says an improvement in concentration is needed for his side ahead of Friday's game against the Gold Coast Titans at Campbelltown Stadium.

Having led for almost the enterity of the match before succumbing to a late 24-22 defeat against Cronulla, Naiqama said there were some positives to take from the loss, but was adamant the team must learn to focus for the full 80 minutes Friday night against the Titans.

“It’s a tough one to swallow,” Naiqama explained.

“We worked so hard for about 74 minutes, but in the NRL you can't switch off and we did against Cronulla and it cost us in the end.

“We definitely did a lot of good things but at the end of the day we didn't get the two points and thats what really matters.

“Its concentration. Those moments cost us so if you're concentrating for the full 80 minutes it puts you in a good position to close out the game so that will be a big thing this Friday night.

“We’ve got heaps of young boys and they're still new to grade so they're still learning and with me personally you only grow through what you go through and they'll take a lesson out of that.

Naiqama was a standout at fullback in the loss and explained how his role changed from his usual position of wing.

“It was definitely a lot more k’s (kilometres), I got the whole week to prepare for it so I was working real hard with the coaching staff with my positioning and where I needed to be in attack.

“Hopefully the boys pull up this week cause we definitely need them and they bring a lot to the team.”

With new additions to first grade Matt Eisenhuth, Malakai Watene-Zelezniak and Esan Marsters all putting in good performances last week, Naiqama spoke glowingly of their efforts.

“It’s definitely one to remember for Eiso I thought he was real good, Malakai getting his first try and Esan was real good and brought a lot of energy and in that regard there’s definitely real positives."

See what Naiqama had to say in full about Friday's game in the video above!